50 Cent acknowledges his influence on today’s rap stars frequently.
On Thursday (Jan. 31), the mogul expressed his mutual respect for 21 Savage on Instagram, following the Atlanta rapper’s paying respect to 50 Cent during his interview with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay. 21 Savage shared with Sharpe that 50 Cent’s story inspired him to become a recording artist.
“50 Cent was a thousand percent [an inspiration],” he said. “I looked up to him growing up too, ’cause he told his story more than a lot of other artists. He had a movie and all type of shit. So I knew his story a little more. I was inspired by his story.”
As he previously described acts like DaBaby, NBA Youngboy, and Pop Smoke as “Lil 50 Cent,” 50 shared a clip of 21 Savage talking about himself and praised 21 Savage’s new song “Sneaky” as the hardest song out right now.
“He got the hardest sh!t out right now,” 50 Cent wrote in the Instagram caption. “Track 5 Sneaky, stop playing for, start booming sh!t.”
“Sneaky” appears on 21 Savage’s third album, American Dream (Epic). The track is produced Coupe. 21 Savage’s new album debuted at #1 and remained at the top for two consecutive weeks following its release on January 12.
In 2020, 21 Savage sampled 50 Cent’s classic “Many Men (Wish Death)” on the song “Many Men” from the Metro Boomin’-collaborated album Savage Mode II.
50 Cent’s debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, is arguably the best hip-hop album of the 2000s. Released in 2003, it sold over 12 million copies worldwide by the end of the year. The album includes smash hits “In Da Club,” “21 Questions,” and “Wanksta.”
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ turned 20 in 2023 and 50 celebrated the anniversary with The Final Lap world tour. 50 Cent performed 103 sold-out shows with stops in the U.S. and internationally.
21 Savage will headline ComplexCon Hong Kong in March.